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Doyce Testerman
Hidden Things
HarperVoyager, September 2012
Watch out for the hidden things …
That’s the last thing Calliope Jenkins’s best friend says to her before ending a two a.m. phone call from Iowa, where he’s working a case she knows little about. Seven hours later, she gets a visit from the police. Josh has been found dead, and foul play is suspected. Calliope is stunned. Especially since Josh left a message on her phone an hour after his body was found. Spurred by grief and suspicion, Calli heads to Iowa herself, accompanied by a stranger who claims to know something about what happened to Josh and who can— maybe—help her get him back. But the road home is not quite the straight shot she imagined. Josh was involved in something much more complicated than locating a teenage runaway or a deadbeat dad, and Calliope finds herself on a surreal road trip into—and behind—America’s heartland, surrounded by magical beings twisted by living just out of sight for too long and confronted with the secret boogeymen of her own troubled past. It’s a search for the truth about her friend’s death and the road she needs to walk if she ever wants to stand on her own. And if Calli’s not careful, her worst teenage nightmares could come true: she might never make it out of Iowa.
“Testerman tells a story of a secret world that is sad, sweet, funny, and more than a little twisted. This world of wizened wizard-men and demon clowns will lure you into the shadows, and once you meet the characters who live in those dark strange places you'll never want to leave. The magic matters here, but it's the human touch that really brings the book to life.”—Chuck Wendig, author of BLACKBIRDS and IRREGULAR CREATURES
“Hidden Things reveals the America I want to believe in--dragons on highways, trolls in the hills, motels that lead to new dimensions. I'll never look at a rest stop the same way again.”—Maureen Johnson, author of the SHADES OF LONDON series
“I loved this book from start to finish. It's strange, weird and down to earth, all at the same time; chock full of fascinating characters, dark dreams and fantasy elements that deliver a real sense of wonder. What's not to love?”—Charles de Lint
